Cal's schedule includes Big Game back in November

The Pac-12 Conference released its 2013 football schedule on Thursday and the headliner for local fans is confirmation that the Big Game between Cal and Stanford will be returned to November.

New coach Sonny Dykes' Golden Bears will take on the defending Pac-12 champion Cardinal on Nov. 23 at Stanford Stadium.

A year ago, the Big Game was played Oct. 20 at Cal -- the earliest in the history of the 115-game series. Pac-12 officials said scheduling complications due to the expanded conference and new TV arrangements resulted in the early date, but indicated the Big Game would be returned to late November in 2013.

Cal has Pac-12 home dates in 2013 against Washington State on Oct. 5, Oregon State on Oct. 19, Arizona on Nov. 2 and USC on Nov. 9.

The Bears will play conference road games against Oregon in its Pac-12 opener on Sept. 28, UCLA on Oct. 12, Washington on Oct. 26 and Colorado on Nov. 16 before the regular-season finale at Stanford.

Cal will miss facing Arizona State and Utah next season, and have a bye on Sept. 21. The Bears play only Saturday games next season.

The Pac-12 championship game is scheduled for Dec. 7.

The Bears are coming off a 3-9 campaign that led to the firing of coach Jeff Tedford after 11 seasons.

Cal previously announced its nonconference schedule, which begins Aug. 31 against Northwestern. The Wildcats were 10-3 last fall, including a win over Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl, with losses to Penn State, Nebraska and Michigan.

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The Bears will play FCS-level Portland State at home on Sept. 7, then host Ohio State on Sept. 14. The Buckeyes were 12-0 last season under first-year coach Urban Meyer, including a 35-28 win over Cal in Columbus, Ohio, but were ineligible for postseason play.

Cal's 2013 schedule; start times and television information to be announced later: